How to Install a Sprinkler System for Bushes

Spray sprinklers become blocked by dense bush foliage.

Your yard may have a few shrubs grouped in one corner or one long, bushy hedge as a property border. Regardless of your landscape design, bushes tend to have dense limb configurations, especially if you prune them regularly. A standard underground pop-up sprinkler system does not typically water these plants thoroughly, as water spray tends to wet the foliage and barely saturate the topsoil, causing stress to the bush. Installing a sprinkler system using drip irrigation allows water to reach the root system and prevents excessive water loss from evaporation.

1

Locate the nearest water source for your bushes, such as a water spigot or sprinkler head. Hand connect a hose bib kit to the water spigot; this kit should include a backflow device, filter, pressure regulator and hose swivel. Alternatively, attach a drip irrigation manifold connector to a nearby sprinkler head.

2

Lay half-inch tubing along the ground between the water source and the bushes, long enough so that each end extends past both the water source and bushes for future attachment.

3

Lay quarter-inch tubing in a loop formation around each bush base. Position the loop at the drip line of each bush. Cut the tubing with a utility knife if it is too long.

4

Create a hole in the half-inch tubing beside each bush using a hole punch. Place a T-connector into each hole.

5

Insert both ends of the quarter-inch tubing around one bush onto the T-connector. Repeat this connection process with the remaining quarter-inch tubing around each bush.

6

Create holes in the quarter-inch tubing using the hole punch. Space the holes according to the individual shrub's water needs, typically about every 3 to 6 inches.

7

Place emitters into each cut hole on the quarter-inch tubing. They should click into place.

8

Secure the half-inch tubing end to the hose bib kit or sprinkler manifold by pressing the tubing onto the connection point.

9

Secure all the tubing to the ground using ground stakes. Do not pinch the tubing as you press the stake into the ground. Allow the tubing to retain its shape.

10

Turn on your water source. Observe your bushes and the soil beneath them. The emitters should allow water to seep into the ground in a controlled fashion for the best irrigation.

Things You Will Need

Hose bib kit

Drip irrigation manifold connector

1/2-inch tubing

1/4-inch tubing

Utility knife

Hole punch

T-connectors

Emitters

Ground stakes

Tip

Although your bushes usually shade the soil below, it is good practice to mulch over the bare ground to conserve the moisture supplied by the tubing. The mulch also covers the tubing so that no one trips on the system and provides a good landscape appearance.

Warning

Use caution while using the utility knife. Wear protective gloves if your hands become wet and slippery. Wet hands may cause you to cut yourself with the knife.

About the Author

Writing professionally since 2010, Amy Rodriguez cultivates successful cacti, succulents, bulbs, carnivorous plants and orchids at home. With an electronics degree and more than 10 years of experience, she applies her love of gadgets to the gardening world as she continues her education through college classes and gardening activities.